Gaming apparatus and method for providing enhanced player participation in lottery games

ABSTRACT

An electronic player station displays to a player a player choice display that includes a number of representations. The number of representations are displayed to the player simultaneously and each representation is selectable in some fashion by the player; however, the representations preferably do not themselves provide any indication as to a correlated prize. Thus each representation embodies a player choice in the play of a game, but does not indicate a prize correlated to that player choice. A game result for the player choice is obtained from any one of a number of game play record pools that are simultaneously available through one or more data processing devices for supplying the game result. A player choice input is received through the player station and a result is displayed to the player. The player choice input identifies a selected one of the number of representations. The result displayed to the player is a result associated with an assigned game play record that has been assigned to the player in response to the player choice input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/919,209 filed Aug. 16, 2004 and entitled “GAMING APPARATUS AND METHODFOR PROVIDING ENHANCED PLAYER PARTICIPATION IN LOTTERY GAMES,” now U.S.Pat. No. ______, which claimed the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/564,789 filed Apr. 23,2004 and entitled “GAMING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING ENHANCEDPLAYER PARTICIPATION IN LOTTERY GAMES.” The Applicants claim the benefitof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/919,209 under 35 U.S.C. §120, andclaim the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/564,789 under 35 U.S.C. §119(e). The entire content of each of theabove-identified U.S. patent applications is incorporated herein by thisreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to games of chance, and, more particularly, toelectronic lottery games that provide for active player participation.The invention includes a gaming method and a gaming apparatus. Theinvention also encompasses a program product for implementing the gamingmethod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lottery games have become popular in many jurisdictions in the UnitedStates and elsewhere. As used in this disclosure, a “lottery game”includes a game that is played with a pool of predefined tickets or gameplay records that are each associated with a particular result in thegame. Some of the predefined tickets or game play records are eachassociated with a respective winning result and thus represent winningtickets. Other predefined tickets or game play records in the pool areeach associated with a respective losing result and thus representlosing tickets or game play records. Since the pool of tickets or gameplay records has a predefined number of tickets or game play records anda predefined number of winning and losing records, the pool has apredefined payout to players and predefined hold for the game operator.That is, assuming that all tickets or game play records in the pool aresold, the cumulative payout to the players is known as is the cumulativevalue in from ticket or game play record sales.

Traditional lottery games are played with a paper lottery ticket. Thesepaper lottery tickets are commonly printed with graphics consistent witha theme of the game. The printed graphics for each respective ticketinclude some result indicator that is correlated to or indicates theresult associated with the respective ticket. These result indicatorsare commonly covered or obscured at the time the ticket is sold. Oncethe player obtains the ticket, he or she may remove the cover orobscuring material to reveal the result indicator and thus the resultassociated with the ticket.

The paper tickets in a traditional lottery game are commonly produced atsome manufacturing facility in books of tickets, each made up of acontinuous roll of individual tickets or a continuous fan fold stack ofindividual tickets with the individual tickets separated by perforationsor break lines. The tickets are randomly ordered in the ticket books orgroups and are sold and distributed sequentially from the randomizedgroup of tickets so that the results in the lottery game are distributedto players in a random order unknown to the players or ticket sellers.

Lottery games have been implemented in electronic form in which thetickets or game play records each comprise an electronic data structurerather than a physical paper ticket. An electronic data structurerepresenting a chance in a lottery-type game will be referred to furtherin this disclosure as a “game play record.” These game play records maytake on a number of different forms. On one end of the spectrum eachgame play record includes a result indicator, record identifier, anddata that defines graphics that are used to display the result of thegame play record to the player. At the other end of the spectrum, eachgame play record includes only a record identifier, a result indicator,and perhaps a table identifier and prize value. Regardless of theparticular form of data structure used for the individual game playrecords, the game play records are commonly grouped in data filesanalogous to books of paper tickets and distributed in some random orderfrom the file. Since the game play records are arranged in data files,the random distribution may be performed by randomizing the order ofgame play records in the respective data file and then distributing thegame play records sequentially in that random order, or the game playrecords can be ordered in the data files and distributed randomly fromthe files.

The electronic lottery games may be implemented with a gaming systemthat includes a central processing system for storing a file ordifferent files of game play records and for distributing the game playrecords to player terminals which are in communication with the centralprocessing system. The player terminals include a display device fordisplaying information to the player, an arrangement for acceptingwagers, and an arrangement for receiving inputs from the player. In thisexample electronic lottery system, a player enters the lottery game bymaking a game play request at a player terminal. In response to a gameplay request entered by the player, the central processing systemassigns a particular game play record for the game play request andcommunicates to the player terminal either the assigned game play recordor information regarding the assigned game play record. The playerterminal then displays the result associated with the game play recordassigned to the player.

Game designers have sought to add excitement to lottery games. Oneparticular method of adding excitement to a lottery game is to give theplayer the ability to choose from a number of game play records orchances from the pool of records or chances. Traditional paper lotterygames have done this by using tickets having multiple chances or resultindicators which are initially obscured, and allowing the player toselect one or more of the chances/result indicators. In thisarrangement, each different chance may represent a different game playrecord, and the player essentially chooses his or her game play recordfrom the group printed on the ticket. U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,398 toSchneier, et al. discloses an electronically implemented system in whichplayers make a selection from among a number of game play outcomes witheach outcome representing a distinct chance in the game. In both ofthese prior art lottery game implementations, the results associatedwith game play records or the outcomes that are not selected by theplayer are not available for reuse. Thus, at least some of the game playrecords or outcomes making up the predetermined pool of game playrecords are never used in these prior art systems and are essentiallywasted.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,606 to Riendeau, et al. discloses a lottery-typegaming system in which files of electronic game play records aredownloaded to a particular gaming terminal for use in satisfying gameplay requests. At the end of some gaming period, game play recordsremaining unused at the gaming terminal are communicated back to acentral processing system and collected with other unused game playrecords and undistributed game play records. These collected game playrecords are then used to make files of game play records that aredownloaded to gaming terminals for use in satisfying later game playrequests. U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,606 did not, however, disclose anyarrangement for reusing game play records remaining unselected afterbeing assigned to a game play request initiated by a player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for electronically implementedlottery games that allows players to select from among different gameplay records and facilitates the recovery of unselected game playrecords for use in response to a future game play request. The presentinvention also encompasses apparatus and program products forimplementing this gaming method.

A lottery gaming system according to the present invention utilizes anumber of (that is, multiple) pools of predetermined game play recordssimilar to the game play record pools used in earlier systems. As usedin this disclosure and the accompanying claims the term “pool” is usedto refer generically to a group of game play records from whichindividual game play records are selected in satisfying a game playrequest, regardless of the format in which the information that makes ofthe game play records is stored. As will be discussed below somepreferred forms of the invention store a pool of game play records inthe form on a single electronic data file. However, the invention is notlimited to any particular manner or format in which the datarepresenting the game play records may be stored.

One preferred method according to the present invention is performedthrough an electronic player station and includes displaying to a playera player choice display that includes a number of representations. Thenumber of representations are displayed to the player simultaneously andeach representation is selectable in some fashion by the player;however, the representations preferably do not themselves provide anyindication as to a correlated prize. Thus each representation embodies aplayer choice in the play of a game, but does not indicate a prizecorrelated to that player choice. A game result for the player choice isobtained from any one of a number of game play record pools that aresimultaneously available through one or more data processing devices forsupplying the game result. This preferred method further includesreceiving a player choice input initiated by the player through a playerinput arrangement of the player station, the player choice inputidentifying a selected one of the number of representations. The methodthen includes displaying a result associated with an assigned game playrecord that has been assigned to the player in response to the playerchoice input. The assigned game play record is a game play record thathas been assigned from a respective one of the game play record poolswith which the selected one of the representations has been associated.Because the game play record that is assigned in response to the playerchoice input is from a game play record pool that has been associatedwith the selected one of the representations, the player's selection,that is, the player choice input, may have an impact on which game playrecord is assigned to the player for a given play of the game. Thisimpact on which game play record is assigned to the player may make thegame more exciting to some players, even though the results are stilldistributed randomly to the extent the player does not know which gameplay record will be assigned for a given game play choice and to theextent the game play records are still assigned in a random order fromthe various game play record pools. Furthermore, even though the playerhas essentially a choice in which game play record is used to providethe result for the play in the game, the game play records that are notassigned in response to the player choice input may remain available foruse in satisfying another game play request or a player choice input.

The invention encompasses a variety of processes for making theunassigned game play records available for reuse in response to a latergame play request. In one preferred process for making unassigned gameplay records available for use to satisfy a later game play request,each game play record in a game play record file includes or isassociated with a status field that may be used to mark a status for thegame play record. This status field for each game play record isoriginally marked as “valid,” meaning that the game play record isavailable for allocation or assignment in response to a game playrequest. Game play records from the various available pools may beallocated for a given group of representation displayed to a player fora player choice input. At the time a respective game play request isallocated to a game play record set in response to a game play request,the status field for that game play record is marked “invalid” or“used.” This status indicates that the game play record is not availablefor allocation or assignment in response to a game play request orplayer choice input. Once the player, by virtue of the player choiceinput, makes his or her selection of one or more game play records fromthe allocated game play record set, the selected game play record orrecords retain the “invalid” status, while the unselected game playrecords, that is, the unassigned game play records, are changed back to“valid” status. These “valid” unassigned game play records are againavailable for allocation or assignment.

In another form of the invention, the unassigned records from each gameplay record set are collected to form a separate unassigned or collectedrecord pool. Once the unassigned record pool contains a certain minimumnumber of game play records, the game play records are made availablefor assignment or allocation. Alternatively, the unassigned records arereturned to the pool that they were drawn from originally and eitheradded to the end of the pool in the order they were initially drawn orreshuffled and then placed at the end of the file. Another method forcollecting game play records within the scope of the present inventionincludes adding the unassigned game play records to another game playrecord pool other than the pool from which the unassigned game playrecords were originally drawn.

It should be noted that the collected, unassigned game play records donot have to be used in responding to a later player choice input. Forexample, the unassigned game play records may be collected for use in alottery game where an individual game play record is assigned to aplayer in response to a game play request and the player does not have achoice among different game play records.

Methods according to the invention are preferably implemented usingoperational computer program code. This program code may include gameplay record storage program code and record assignment program code. Thegame play record storage program code is executable for causing thenumber of game play record pools to be stored in data storage. Therecord assignment program code is executable for assigning to the playera respective game play record from one of the game play record pools inresponse to the player choice input. As in the method described above,the game play record is assigned from the game play record pool to whichthe selected one of the representations is mapped.

A program product according to the present invention may further includerecord allocation program code and record collection program code. Therecord collection program code is executable to make the allocated butunassigned game play records available for use in satisfying a laterplay in the lottery gaming system. The record allocation program codeallocates game play records for use in responding to a player choiceinput, preferably by changing a status indicator for the game playrecord according to the method described above and described furtherbelow in the Description of Preferred Embodiments section.

One preferred apparatus embodying the principles of the inventionincludes a data storage device and a game play record assignmentarrangement. The data storage device stores the number of game playrecord pools described for the preferred method set out above. In oneform of the apparatus each respective game play record pool is mapped toa respective representation of the number of different representationsthat are simultaneously displayed to the player, and the player choiceinput identifies a selected one of the number of representations. Thegame play record assignment arrangement assigns to the player arespective game play record from one of the game play record pools inresponse to the player choice input, the assigned game play record beingassigned from the game play record pool to which the selected one of therepresentations is mapped. Some preferred forms of the invention mayinclude a game play allocation arrangement and a game play recordcollection arrangement for performing the game play record allocationstep and game play record collection, respectively, in the abovedescribed method. These portions of the apparatus will be describedfurther below in connection with the drawings.

The present invention adds excitement to game play by allowing theplayer to have some real influence over the game play record or recordsthat are ultimately used to satisfy their game play request. This givesthe player the perception that their skill affects the outcome of thegame. However, the game play records remain randomly assigned, with theplayer's selection only adding to the randomization. Also, the addedplayer excitement is produced without wasting game play records. Sinceall or substantially all of the game play records in a pool of recordsmay be used according to the invention, the payout and hold from thepool remains essentially predetermined and is not substantially affectedby the players' selections.

These and other advantages and features of the invention will beapparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments,considered along with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a gaming apparatus embodyingone preferred form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the central processing systemand a single player terminal as shown in FIG. 1, along with datastructures employed in one preferred form of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a gaming method embodying theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an alternative form of theinvention in which multiple game play record files are used to effectthe players' choices.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described below with reference to aparticular implementation using a particular arrangement of hardware anddata structures. This implementation includes a hardware arrangementsimilar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,184 issued on Feb. 25,2003. The entire content of U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,184 is herebyincorporated herein by this reference. However, it will be appreciatedthat the present invention is by no means limited to this particulararrangement of hardware, the methods implemented in the hardware, or theexample data structures described below. Numerous variations on thisimplementation are possible within the scope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a gaming apparatus 10 embodying the principlesof the invention includes a game manufacturing computer or system 11, acentral computer or system 12 in communication with game manufacturingsystem 11, and a number of player terminals or player stations 14 eachin communication with central system 12. In this particular embodiment,pools of game play records are created at game manufacturing system 11and then stored in a storage device, such as a hard drive (not shownseparately), that is associated with the game manufacturing system. Thepools of game play records are transferred periodically to centralsystem 12. Game play records are then allocated or assigned from centralsystem 12 in response to game play requests from player terminals 14. Inone preferred form of the invention, manufacturing system 11 producesvery large pools of game play records according to a particular gamepayout, hold, and win distribution design, and then divides each poolinto a number of randomized game record subsets which preferably do notinclude any predetermined number of winning or losing game play recordsor any particular winning or losing game play record distribution. Thesesubsets of game records are then transferred to central system 12 inorder to ensure a supply of game play records at the central systemsufficient to satisfy the game play requests incoming from the variousplayer terminals 14.

Each player terminal 14 includes a display 15 for displaying variousgame representations, and further includes an input device 16 forreceiving player inputs, including game play requests. The input devicemay include any type of input arrangement including one or more pushbuttons, keys, or lever activated switches. Also, the input device 16may include a touch screen and thus be integrated with display 15.Although not shown in the drawings, each player terminal 14 may alsoinclude an arrangement for receiving payments from a player and anarrangement for making payouts to the player. Payouts may be made usinga coin or token dispensing arrangement (not shown) included in playerterminal 14. Alternatively, or in addition to a coin or token dispensingarrangement, player terminal 14 may include a printer (not shown) forprinting a ticket or voucher showing the player's winnings or accountvalue. The player may redeem this ticket through a game operator, forexample, or use the ticket in another gaming terminal. In yet otherarrangements, wagers and winnings may be tracked through a suitableplayer account arrangement included in system 10, and a player mayredeem their account through a system cashier or through some othersuitable account interface arrangement.

The player terminals 14 shown in FIG. 1 also each include a processor 18for executing game control software which implements the gaming methodand drives or communicates with the various other devices included inthe respective player terminal. Other forms of the invention may performsome or all of this game play processing at a central computer systemsuch as system 12. The invention is not limited to any particularprocessing arrangement.

Methods of producing pools of game play records for a lottery-type gameare well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail here so asnot to obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. In everylottery-type game, it will be appreciated that the game play records areultimately assigned to players randomly. This randomization may beaccomplished generally in one of two ways. One method for ensuring gameplay records are assigned randomly is to randomize the order of gameplay records in the pool or pool subsets and then assign game playrecords sequentially from the randomized game play records. The secondcommon method for ensuring game play records are assigned in randomorder is to randomly assign game play records from an ordered orunrandomized pool or subset of game play records. Further details on onepreferred structure of the game play records pools or pool subsets and apreferred structure of the game play records themselves will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 2.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may beembodied in many arrangements other than the illustrative arrangementshown in FIG. 1. For example, a single computer system may generate thegame play records according to the invention and may also store the gameplay records for distribution to several player terminals such asterminals 14. Pools or pool subsets of game play records may also bestored at a respective player terminal for use in satisfying game playrequests according to the invention. Furthermore, it will be appreciatedthat although four player terminals 14 are shown in FIG. 1 for purposesof illustrating the invention, any number of player terminals may beincluded in an apparatus embodying the principles of the invention. Inyet other arrangements within the scope of the present invention, asingle computer system could perform the game play record generationfunction, the game play record storage function, and player interactionfunction, thus replacing the separate systems 11, 12, and 14 shown inFIG. 1. These alternative arrangements are to be considered equivalentto the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of the accompanyingclaims. Furthermore, there may be wide variation within the scope of thepresent invention in the specific components included even in the basicarrangement of systems shown in FIG. 1. For example, central computersystem 12 may in fact be made up of several different processing systemsrather than a single computer. In one preferred form of the invention,central system 12 includes a separate processing device programmed toreceive and respond to game play requests and a separate processingdevice programmed to implement databases for supporting the operation ofthe processing device for servicing game play requests.

Central system 12 may include a monitoring arrangement for monitoringthe number of unassigned game play records available at the centralsystem. When the number of unassigned game play records reaches someminimum value, the monitoring arrangement may cause the central system12 to make a request to game manufacturing system 11 to send additionalgame play records.

Referring to FIG. 2, central system 12 includes a central processor 20and a game play record file storage device 21. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that random access memory and other components will beassociated with central processor 20 even though these additionalcomponents are omitted from the drawing so as not to obscure theinvention in unnecessary detail. Central processor 20 executes programcode to perform certain method steps described below with reference toFIG. 3. In one preferred form of the invention, central processor 20 incentral system 12 executes program code to implement the allocation ofgame play records to game play record sets, the assignment of at leastone game play record from the set in response to a player choice input,and the making of unassigned game play records available for use insatisfying a future game play request. In this preferred form of theinvention, central system 12 represents a record allocation arrangement,a record assignment arrangement, and a record collection arrangement.However, it will be appreciated that other preferred forms of theinvention may distribute the record allocation, assignment, andcollection functions differently and thus one or more other componentsin a system according to the present invention may represent the recordallocation, assignment, and collection arrangements.

Each player terminal 14 is connected for communication with centralsystem 12 so that information may be communicated from the playerterminal to the central system and so that information may becommunicated from the central system to the player terminal. Thespecific types of communications required in a system according to theinvention will vary from implementation to implementation. However, thecommunication arrangement at least supports the communication of gameplay requests and player game play record selection information from therespective player terminal 14 to central system 12, and thecommunication of assigned game play record information from the centralsystem to the respective player terminal. Specific examples ofcommunications between a player terminal 14 and central system 12 willbe described below with reference to FIG. 3.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2, storagedevice 21 at central system 12 stores a number of game play record files24 that have been obtained preferably from the game manufacturing system11 shown in FIG. 1, or from some other suitable source. Each game playrecord file 24 includes a number of separate game play records 25. Eachgame play record file 24 may also include header information regardingthe contents and source of the respective file and allowing eachrespective file to be identified and addressed. As mentioned previously,in preferred forms of the invention each file 24 comprises a subset ofgame play records from a larger pool of game play records. A preferredgame play record structure includes the record identifier 32, a resultindex value 33, a status value 34, and an index file identifier 35. Theorder in which these elements are shown in FIG. 2 is shown only forpurposes of example, and any other order may be used within the scope ofthe invention. Also, the manner in which these values or identifiers areincluded in each game play record 25 is subject to wide variation withinthe scope of the invention. In one form of the invention for example,the identifiers or values are simply arranged in comma delimited fieldsin each game play record.

Record identifier 32 is preferably unique to each game play record 25 inthe respective record file 24 so that the record may be addressed in therespective file by the identifier. Alternative forms of the inventionmay include a sequence value (not shown) in each game play record 25 asa substitute or alternative means for addressing a respective game playrecord. Result index value 33 is the element from record 25 thatrepresents the particular result of the game play record in thepreferred form of the invention. Each possible result index value 33 iscorrelated to a result in the game and thus indicates whether aparticular game play record is associated with a predetermined winningor losing outcome and the corresponding prize amount, if applicable.Alternative forms of the invention may include an actual result value inthe respective game play record, rather than using the result indexvalue 33 to identify the result value or in addition to using the resultindex value. Status value 34 is included in the illustrated form of theinvention to indicate the status of the respective game play record as“valid” or “invalid.” These designations valid and invalid or some othersuitable designations are used in one preferred form of the invention toindicate whether the particular game play record is available to beallocated to a game play record set or is not available. In onepreferred form of the invention, the status value comprises a single bitwhich is set to one value to indicate that the game play record is validand set to the opposite value to indicate that the game play record isinvalid. Index file identifier 35 is included in the illustrated form ofthe invention to identify a particular result index file to which therespective result index value belongs. In forms of the invention using aresult index value and an index file value, both of these values areused to identify the particular result associated with the game playrecord.

It will be appreciated that numerous different data structures may beused for game play records within the scope of the invention. Theparticular game play record structure shown in FIG. 2 follows aphilosophy of including a minimum amount of data in each game playrecord. Alternative forms of the invention may utilize game play recordsthat include additional data, such as data necessary to produce graphicsto represent the result of the game play record to the player at playerterminal 14. Also, it will be appreciated that status informationregarding each game play record need not be maintained in the respectivegame play records itself. Rather, a separate file or data table may beused to maintain status information for each game play record in a gameplay record file.

Player terminal processor 18 may execute computer program code to allowa player to make game play requests and to produce graphic displaycommands to cause display 15 to produce suitable displays in response togame play record set information from central system 12 and assignedgame play record information from the central system. Display 15 may beused to produce any number of game presentations under the control ofthe display driving or controlling program code. In particular, itshould be noted that a gaming system such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2 according to the present invention may include player terminals 14that provide many different types of game presentations. The differentgame presentations may require presentation-specific game play records.Alternatively, a single game play record file 24 may be used in someforms of the invention to satisfy game play requests from playerterminals 14 implementing different game presentations. Gamepresentations that may be used with the present invention includepresentations that mimic paper lottery games, card games such as pokeror black jack, reel-type games (slot machines), contests such as horseor dog races, or any other type of game. Where the graphicrepresentation includes a representation of a scratch-off ticket, forexample, the information required to produce a graphic representationmay include a file or object to generate the basic ticket graphic, andfiles or objects to draw any symbols which may appear on the ticket. Itwill be appreciated that the data storage arrangement (arrangement ofrandom access memory, read only memory, and hard drives, for example),associated with player terminal processor 18 has the ability to storeall the information required to produce such a graphic representation.

Player input device 16 may include any suitable arrangement to allow theplayer to make game play requests. Regardless of the specific hardwarearrangement used to allow a player to initiate a game play request(buttons, switches, cursor controller/display combination, or touchscreen display, for example), the player terminal processor 18preferably responds to a game play request input from the player bygenerating a game play request that includes sufficient information toallow the central system 12 to respond appropriately. For example, thegame play request may include a game play record file type identifierthat identifies the type of game play record file 24 that must be usedto satisfy the game play request. Central computer system 12 may thenuse this game play record file type identifier to identify a particulargame play record file 24 that will supply game play records 25 tosatisfy the game play request. The game play request will also generallyinclude some identifier indicating which player terminal 14 isoriginating the request, and perhaps other information.

FIG. 2 also shows several different game play record files 24 stored atstorage device 21. This reflects the fact that multiple lottery-typegames may be in play at any given time in the present system, with eachgame having its own game play record file 24. Even with one game inplay, two or more different game play record files 24 may be usedalternately or in combination in accessing game play records 25. Wheremultiple game play record files are used, central processor 20 is ableto distinguish between files and choose the correct file or files inresponse to a game play request from player terminal 14 usinginformation included or associated with the game play request.

FIG. 3 may be used to describe an overall method embodying the presentinvention together with variations within the scope of the inventionregarding making unassigned game play records available for use inresponding to a subsequent game play request. It will be appreciatedthat the references to system components in the following discussion ofFIG. 3 are references to the system components shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.These system components are not illustrated in FIG. 3. It should benoted that the process from receiving a game play request at processblock 42, or from displaying player choices at process block 45 in FIG.3, to displaying results at process block 50 in FIG. 3 may be thought ofas a single game play sequence for a player. That is, each player ingaming system 10 shown in FIG. 1 may proceed through a single instanceof this game play sequence in order to receive an outcome for a singleinstance of a player choice game according to the invention.

As shown in FIG. 3 a method according to the invention includesreceiving and storing one or more game play record files at a suitablestorage device as indicated at process block 41. In the form of theinvention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, central system 12 andspecifically storage device 21 at the central system receives and storesone or more game play record files 24. The storage of game play recordfiles as shown in process block 41 in FIG. 3 is preferably performedunder the control of game play record storage program code executed by asuitable processing device such as central processor 20. As discussedabove, a monitoring arrangement implemented through suitable game playrecord file monitoring program code may monitor the game play recordfiles 24 and submit requests for additional game play record files asnecessary to ensure a sufficient number of game play records aremaintained in storage for satisfying incoming game play requests.

As shown at process block 42 in FIG. 3 a method according to theinvention also includes receiving a game play request. In the form ofthe invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the game play request is receivedin a communication from a player terminal 14. A preferred game playrequest is generated by the player terminal processor 18 under thecontrol of suitable operational program code, and may include a playerterminal identifier and a game play record file type identifier thatidentifies the particular type of game play record file containing gameplay records that may be used to satisfy the game play record request.

Regardless of the specific form of game play request used in aparticular implementation, the invention includes defining a game playrecord set and allocating the defined game play record set, bothpreferably in response to the received game play request. This step isshown at process block 44 in FIG. 3. In preferred forms of theinvention, the step of defining a game play record set and allocatingthe game play record set is performed under the control of suitableoperational program code executed by a processor associated with thestorage device at which the game play record file or files are stored. Apreferred program code arrangement for defining a game play record setand allocating the game play record set includes game play recordallocation program code. The particular step or steps performed atprocess block 44 will depend primarily upon the manner in whichunassigned game play records are collected in the particularimplementation of the invention as will be described further below withreference to process block 50. For example, the game play record setdefinition and allocation steps may include changing the status value 34for each game play record included in the particular game play recordset to a status that indicates the respective game play record isinvalid, that is, unavailable for further allocation or assignment tosatisfy a game play request. Alternative implementations may not includeany status value associated with each game play record and the game playrecord set definition and allocation steps shown at process block 44 maysimply include collecting some number of unassigned game play recordsrandomly from the particular game play record set being used to satisfythe received game play request. In this alternative, game play recordsin a game play record file may be arranged in a random sequence and thenext predefined number of game play records from the sequence may beselected to define a game play record set which is allocated accordingto the step shown in process block 44.

It should be noted that a set of game play records for use in satisfyinga game play request according to the present invention may be predefinedbefore the receipt or initiation of a game play request. For example, afile of game play records may include predefined groups of game playrecords that will each be used as a game play record set to satisfy anincoming game play request. In these forms of the invention, only theallocation of the game play record set is performed in response to theincoming game play request.

As shown at process block 45 in FIG. 3, a method according to theinvention further includes displaying choices to the player by orthrough which the player may choose one or perhaps more of the game playrecords included in the game play record set defined and allocatedaccording to process block 44. For example, player terminal processor 18may generate graphic instructions for a display which causes display 15associated with player terminal 14 to produce a graphic of some numberof representations equal to the number of game play records included inthe defined and allocated game play record set. In one presentationwithin the scope of the invention for example, the graphic may comprisea number of objects such as stuffed animals equal in number to thenumber of game play records included in the game play record set definedand allocated as indicated at block 44. As another example, the graphicmay be of a number of doors equal to the number of game play recordsincluded in the game play record set defined and allocated according toblock 44. In any event, the purpose of the player choice display atprocess block 45 is to allow the player to operate suitable playerterminal controls or input devices to produce a player choice inputselecting one or perhaps more of the representations and therebyeffectively selecting the game play record or records to be assigned tothe player. In preferred forms of the invention, the variousrepresentations that represent choices or options that may be selectedby the player each correspond to a respective game play record in thedefined and allocated game play record set. However, it should be notedthat the correspondence or correlation between choices displayed to theplayer at process block 45 and the game play records in the game playrecord set defined according to process block 44 need not be defined atthe time the player choice display is produced. Rather, thecorrespondence or mapping between player choices and game play recordsin the game play record set may be performed before or after the playerchoices are displayed to the player.

Once the player choices are displayed to the player, the player mayoperate a suitable input device such as device arrangement 16 at playerterminal 14 to produce an input that effectively selects one or perhapsmore of the available choices. As shown at process block 47 in FIG. 3,the invention includes receiving the player choice input, such as atprocessor 18 at the respective player terminal 14. In some preferredforms of the invention, the player choice input results in the creationof a suitable packet or collection of data that is communicated back tothe processing arrangement controlling the game play record file. Inresponse to the player choice input communication resulting from theplayer choice input, the invention includes the step of assigning aparticular one of the game play records from the game play record set asshown at process block 48 in FIG. 3. In preferred forms of theinvention, the particular game play record is assigned from the setbased on the player choice input. However, it will be appreciated thatforms of the invention may simply use the player choice input asappropriately communicated to randomly select one of the game playrecords from the allocated game play record set.

Once the particular game play record or records from the game playrecord set are assigned as indicated at process block 48 in FIG. 3, themethod includes displaying the result associated with the assigned gameplay record(s) to the player. In the implementation of the inventionshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, central system 12 may perform the assignmentstep shown at process block 48 and then communicate the assigned gameplay record or information associated with the assigned game play recordto the respective player terminal 14 so that the player terminal maydisplay the result as indicated at process block 50. In one preferredform of the invention, central system 12 communicates only the resultindex value 33 to the player terminal 14, and the player terminalprocessor 18 uses this result index value to produce a suitable graphicto display the result associated with the assigned game play record orrecords to the player. In this example arrangement, player terminal 14may store a result index table and performs a table lookup using theresult index value to find information about the result so that theresult may be appropriately displayed to the player in accordance withthe game presentation available at the player terminal.

It will be appreciated that preferred forms of the invention perform thesteps described at process blocks 41 through 50 in FIG. 3 in a way thatminimizes the amount of communications or data that must be transferredback and forth between central system 12 and player terminal 14. Forexample, the game play record set definition and allocation steps shownat process block 44 may not be associated with any step of actuallycommunicating information regarding the defined and allocated game playrecords to the player terminal at that point. In this example,information on only each game play record actually assigned to theplayer must be transferred to player terminal 14 in order to allow theplayer terminal to display the result of the game play according to thestep shown at process block 50 in FIG. 3. However, alternate forms ofthe invention may include transferring data to player terminal 14regarding each game play record in the defined and allocated game playrecord set. In this alternative, the step of assigning a particular gameplay record from the set as shown at process block 48 may be performedat the player terminal 14.

As indicated at process block 51 in FIG. 3, a method according to thepresent invention may include collecting or otherwise making unassignedgame records available for reuse to satisfy later game play requests.Making unassigned game play records available for use is preferablyperformed under the control of record collection program code executedat central system 12 and/or player terminal 14. The inventionencompasses a number of different processes for making unassigned gameplay records available for use in responding to a subsequent game playrequest. In one preferred form of the invention, unassigned game playrecords, that is, the game play records that are not selected from thegame play record set and assigned to the particular player as shown atprocess block 48, are collected back in the original game play recordfile which originally contained the game play records. This type ofunassigned game play record collection may be accomplished using thestatus value 34 shown in FIG. 2. The process would include changing thestatus value to “invalid” or to some other indicator at the time therespective game play record is included in a game play record set,thereby indicating that the particular game play record is unavailablefor inclusion in another game play record set and unavailable forassignment to another player. Once the particular game play record orrecords from the set are assigned as indicated at process block 48 inFIG. 3, all of the unassigned game play records from the set may havetheir status value 34 changed back to valid or some other value toindicate that the particular game play record is available for useeither for allocation to another game play record set or for assignmentto a particular player. The game play record allocation process may theninclude querying the game play record file to locate the first validgame play records in the file sequence and allocating those records tothe game play record set for responding to the next game play request.It will be noted that this preferred arrangement may not change thesequence of game play records in the game play record files.

Another arrangement for making unassigned game play records availablefor use from the original game play record file includes returning theunassigned game play records from a game play record set back to therespective game play record file but in a different order. For example,unassigned game play records from a game play record set may be appendedrandomly or in the original order at the end of the game play recordfile from which the game play records were allocated. It will also beappreciated that an unassigned game play record may be appended to agame play record file different from the game play record file thatoriginally included the respective game play record.

An alternate process for making unassigned game play records availablefor use in responding to a subsequent game play request as indicated atprocess block 51 in FIG. 3 includes collecting the unassigned game playrecords from previously allocated game play record sets to make a newgame play record file. Unassigned game play records may be collected ina new game play record file until the new file contains sufficientrecords or some minimum number of records, at which time the new gameplay record file may be made available for satisfying incoming game playrequests. In yet other forms of the invention unassigned game playrecords may be collected in a file until sufficient records have beencollected to create multiple new game play record files. In any case anynew game play record files created from collected, unassigned game playrecords may be used to satisfy game play requests in the original gamefor which the game play records were intended or for a different type ofgame such as a bonus type game that may be available to the playerthrough the various player terminals 14. Also, the invention is notlimited to collecting unassigned game play records for one or more newfiles at any particular location in the gaming system. For example, allof the collection of unassigned game play records may be performed atcentral system 12. Alternatively, all of the collection of unassignedgame play records may be performed at each respective player terminal14. In other forms of the invention, player terminals 14 may beresponsible for collecting unassigned game play records and thenperiodically communicating groups of the unassigned game play recordsback to central system 12. In yet other arrangements a separateprocessing device included in the system may be responsible forcollecting unassigned game play records.

Various combinations of making unassigned game play records availablefor use and allocating game play records for game play record sets maybe used in some preferred forms of the invention. For example,unassigned game play records may be collected in one or more separateunassigned game play record files, and the game play record setallocation process may include allocating to a common game play recordset both game play records from an original file of game play recordsand from a file of collected, unassigned game play records.

It will be appreciated that in preferred forms of the invention theplayer's choice or selection from the display produced at process block45 in FIG. 3 actually effects the result for the player's game playrequests. That is, the player's choice selected from the display is usedin some fashion to select one or more of the game play records from thedefined and allocated game play record set and the selected game playrecords provide the results for the player's play in the game. However,the player choice display produced as indicated at process block 45 doesnot allow the player to know the result that may be associated with eachparticular choice. The player choice display may provide informationindicating that certain prizes are available from among the differentchoices but the player terminal will not indicate which choice isassociated with which particular result.

Another alternate embodiment of the present invention employs a numberof different game play record files simultaneously to satisfy game playrequests and offer the player the ability to select a game play recordfrom a number of different alternatives. The number of game play recordfiles employed in this form of the invention is at least equal to thenumber of choices the player is offered. For example, FIG. 4diagrammatically illustrates five different game play record files 61,62, 63, 64, and 65, each containing a number of individual game playrecords indicated at reference numeral 68. In response to a game playrequest entered from a player station 69, the display 70 associated withthe player terminal displays five different representations 71, 72, 73,74, and 75 under the control of player terminal processor 77. Eachrepresentation is associated with the next available game play record inone of the game play record files 61-65. When the player selects one ofthe representations 71-75, the gaming system selects the next availablegame play record from the game play record file with which thatrepresentation is associated and that game play record is used tosatisfy the player's game play request.

It will be noted that this form of the invention does not require that agame play record 68 from each game play record file 61-65 be allocated,that is, reserved for potential use in satisfying the game play request.Rather, the next unused or available game play record in each file 61-65remains available for use in satisfying any game play request enteredfrom a player terminal in the system. In fact, the arrangement shown inFIG. 4 may be implemented so that the second input by the player, thatis, the input selecting one of the representations 61-65 comprises thegame play request. The earlier input from the player to display therepresentations 71-75 may be considered merely a precursor to the gameplay request. However, even though game play records from the variousfile need not be allocated or reserved, the player's choice ofrepresentations 71-75 does in fact effect the result of the play for theplayer given that the results associated with the next available gameplay record in the files 61-65 are likely dissimilar. Of course, even inthis form of the invention, a game play record from the different filesmay be allocated for use in satisfying the game play request, and thenunallocated if it is not selected by the player similarly to thepreviously described embodiments.

A number of variations are possible in this multiple game play recordfile form of the present invention. For example, it may be desirable toindicate to the player the results of the unselected alternativesrepresented by representations 71-75. This may be accomplished byactually allocating the next available game play record 68 in each file61-65 at the time the player makes their initial input. This allocationreserves the various game play records so that a certain result for eachrecord may be communicated to the player to show what they would havewon had they selected the respective representation. An alternative toallocation of a respective game record 68 from each file 61-65 comprisesreading the result from the next available game record in each file61-65 at the time the game record from the selected file is read. Thishas the effect of recording the result for each game record that wouldhave been assigned to the player had the player made a differentselection. The recorded game play record results may then be displayedto the player to show them what they would have won had they made adifferent selection. Also, it will be appreciated that there need not bea fixed association between each representation 71-75 and a respectiveone of the files 61-65. Rather, a selection of a given representation71-75 at the player terminal may result in the selection of any one ofthe files 61-65 for use in satisfying the game play request. Also, it ispossible within the scope of the present invention that one or more ofthe representations 71-75 may be associated with only a single file fromamong multiple game play record files. However, the player's selectionshould still have some impact on which pool is selected and thus whichgame play record is used to satisfy the game play request so that theplayer's selection will make a difference in the outcome for that gameplay.

The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, but not to limit the scope of theinvention. Various other embodiments and modifications to thesepreferred embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

1. A method including: (a) through a player station, displaying to aplayer a player choice display that includes a number ofrepresentations, the number of representations being displayed to theplayer simultaneously and each representation being selectable by theplayer to embody a player choice in a game in which a game result isobtained from any one of a number of game play record pools that aresimultaneously available through one or more processing devices forsupplying the game result; (b) receiving a player choice input initiatedby the player through a player input arrangement of the player station,the player choice input identifying a selected one of the number ofrepresentations; and (c) at the player station, displaying a resultassociated with an assigned game play record that has been assigned tothe player in response to the player choice input, the assigned gameplay record having been assigned from a respective one of the game playrecord pools with which the selected one of the representations has beenassociated.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein at least two of the numberof representations are associated with a first game play record pool sothat when the selected one of the number of representations comprisesone of the at least two of the number of representations, the assignedgame play record that is assigned to the player in response to theplayer choice is assigned from the first game play record pool.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further including: (a) receiving an additional playerchoice input for the player choice display, the additional player choiceinput being entered through the player input arrangement of the playerstation and identifying an additional selected one of the number ofrepresentations; and (b) in response to the additional player choiceinput, displaying through the player station a result associated with anadditional game play record to the player, the additional game playrecord having been assigned from a respective one of the game playrecord pools with which the additional selected one of therepresentations has been associated.
 4. The method of claim 1 furtherincluding the step of associating each representation with a respectivepool of game play records prior to the player choice input.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 further including displaying through the playerstation a result associated with a game play record contained within adifferent one of the game play record pools, the result associated withthe game play record contained within the different one of the game playrecord pools comprising a result that the player would have received hadthe player choice input identified one of the number of representationsother than the selected one of the number of representations.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein a respective game play record is allocatedfrom each of two or more different game play record pools of the numberof game play record pools, the allocating being performed at the timethe assigned game play record is assigned to the player or earlier in agame play sequence from displaying the player choice display to the timethe assigned game play record is assigned to the player.
 7. The methodof claim 6 wherein at least one allocated game play record other thanthe assigned game play record is made available for assignment to adifferent player in a game play sequence initiated by the differentplayer.
 8. The method of claim 1 further including displaying throughthe player station a respective result for each respectiverepresentation during a game sequence from displaying the player choicedisplay to the time the assigned game play record is assigned to theplayer and prior to the player choice input for that game sequence, eachrespective result being associated with a game play record containedwithin a different one of the game play record pools and comprising aresult potentially available to the player for the player choice inputfor that game sequence.
 9. An apparatus including: (a) a data storagedevice storing a number of game play record pools, each respective gameplay record pool including a respective number of game play recordsavailable for satisfying a player choice input entered by a playerthrough a player input device, and each respective game play record poolbeing mapped to a respective representation of a number of differentrepresentations that are simultaneously displayed to the player, theplayer choice input identifying a selected one of the number ofrepresentations simultaneously displayed to the player; and (b) a gameplay record assignment arrangement for assigning to the player arespective game play record from one of the game play record pools inresponse to the player choice input, the assigned game play record beingassigned from the game play record pool to which the selected one of therepresentations is mapped.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein, for agame play sequence from the player choice input to the game play recordassignment, each respective game play record pool is mapped to arespective one of the representations prior to the assignment of therespective game play record for the game play sequence.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 9 wherein, for a game play sequence from the playerchoice input to the game play record assignment, at least two differentgame play record pools are mapped to a single one of therepresentations.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9 further including a gameplay record allocation arrangement which, for a game play sequence fromthe player choice input to the game play record assignment, changes arespective status indicator for one game play record in each game playrecord pool to indicate that the respective game play record isallocated for the respective game play sequence and is thereforeunavailable for use in satisfying an additional player choice input. 13.The apparatus of claim 12 further including a game play recordcollection arrangement for making at least one allocated game playrecord available for response to a player choice input for a future gameplay sequence.
 14. A program product stored in a computer-readablemedium, the program product including: (a) game play record storageprogram code executable for causing a number of game play record poolsto be stored in data storage, each respective game play record poolincluding a respective number of game play records available forsatisfying a player choice input entered by a player through a playerinput device, and each respective game play record pool being mapped toa respective representation of a number of different representationsthat are simultaneously displayed to the player, the player choice inputidentifying a selected one of the number of representationssimultaneously displayed to the player; and (b) record assignmentprogram code executable for assigning to the player a respective gameplay record from one of the game play record pools in response to theplayer choice input, the assigned game play record being assigned fromthe game play record pool to which the selected one of therepresentations is mapped.
 15. The program product of claim 14 wherein,for a game play sequence from the player choice input to the assignmentof the respective game play record in response to the player choiceinput, each respective game play record pool is mapped to a respectiveone of the representations prior to the assignment of the respectivegame play record for the game play sequence.
 16. The program product ofclaim 14 wherein, for a game play sequence from the player choice inputto the assignment of the respective game play record in response to theplayer choice input, at least two different game play record pools aremapped to a single one of the representations.
 17. The program productof claim 14 further including record allocation program code executable,for a game play sequence from the player choice input to the assignmentof the respective game play record in response to the player choiceinput, for changing a respective status indicator for one game playrecord in each game play record pool to indicate that the respectivegame play record is allocated for the respective game play sequence andis therefore unavailable for use in satisfying an additional playerchoice input.
 18. The program product of claim 17 further includingrecord collection program code executable for making at least oneallocated game play record available for response to a player choiceinput for a future game play sequence.